M134 Minigun

General Electric M134 with first pattern spade grip mount and crosshair sights. Note the lack of flash suppressor and three disked barrel cluster - 7.62x51mm NATO

The M134 Minigun is a six-barreled, electrically-driven rotary gun originally designed by General Electric. Essentially a miniaturized version of the 20mm M61 Vulcan chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO, it was originally designed during the Vietnam War to provide a high-volume-of-fire weapon suitable for mounting on helicopters. Boasting a fire rate of up to 6,000 rounds per minute, the minigun proved far more capable than any single-barreled weapon in this role and, through numerous updates, remains in it to this day.

A distinctive invention of fiction is the hand-held M134 minigun, a concept which was popularized by the film Predator. Physically demanding even for a slowed-down minigun firing blanks, such a weapon would be near impossible, and highly impractical for a human being to either carry or operate. This fact has not stopped it appearing frequently in other works, especially in video games. Generally such depictions will totally ignore the weapon's need for external power, and sometimes even forget it requires a source of ammunition.

The M134 Minigun and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:

Dillon Aero M134 Minigun

Dillon Aero M134 with flash suppressor - 7.62x51mm NATO. These are new model M134 Miniguns or just updated GE Miniguns which are usually seen with a different spade grip mount that were used during the Vietnam War.

Dillon Aero M134D-H (H stands for Hybrid) combines the titanium and skeletonized parts that were engineered for use in the M134D-T minigun with the steel housing of the previous M134D - 7.62x51mm NATO

General Dynamics GAU-17/A

General Dynamics GAU-17/A, US Air Force version of the M134 Minigun - 7.62x51mm NATO

General Dynamics GAU-17/A, US Air Force version of the M134 Minigun - 7.62x51mm NATO

A variant of the USAF GAU-2B/A fixed-mount minigun optimised for use in flexible mounts, fitted with a slotted flash hider, MAU-201/A or MAU-56 delinking feeder, flexible feeding chute and optional ejection chute, and a 1,500 or 4,500-round ammunition container.

Surplus GAU-17/As were acquired by the US Navy ahead of the 2003 Iraq war, placed on mountings for Mk 16 20mm cannons and designated as the Mk 44 machine gun: it also goes by this designation when used by US Special Forces and the British Royal Navy.

Hand Held M134 Minigun

Airsoft handheld M134 Minigun with 'Chainsaw grip' to handle the recoil force. This variant was seen in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. This is an airsoft version which retains the half-circle attachment point for the M60 foregrip from Predator; the real T2 minigun did not have this - (fake) 7.62x51mm NATO